Top 5 in Employment

TechAmerica recently released its Cybercities 2010 report, which tracks key trends in high-tech employment, wages, establishments, payroll, employment concentration, and wage differential at the metropolitan level throughout the United States. "Most of the metro areas we examined lost tech jobs in 2009 as the full force of the economic downturn hit the industry," says TechAmerica vice president Josh James. "These are the types of jobs every city wants. They are very well-paid, with 57 of the 60 cybercities having average tech industry wages that are 50 percent higher than the average private sector wage. Three of those cybercities - Colorado Springs, Austin, and San Diego - have average tech wages that are more than double those of the private sector." The top 10 cybercities by high-tech employment in 2009 were New York, Washington, DC, San Jose/Silicon Valley, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Houston. But, 53 of the top 60 cybercities saw net job loss in 2009. "High-tech jobs make critical contributions to local economies in terms of innovation and high wages," says TechAmerica chair Phillip J. Bond. "But how to attract and retain them is the key question all mayors, city council officials, and local business leaders grapple with." All statistics in the report are based on data collected from all businesses in the United States by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics The data is for 2009, the most recent calendar year available at the time of publication.